El Salvador vs Panama Odds & Prediction – CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying
- Third Round qualifying fixture takes place in San Salvador at 10:05 pm ET on Thursday
- Hopeful Panama is unbeaten in three games while El Salvador has yet to score
- See the odds and best bets for El Salvador vs Panama in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying below
Panama will hope to continue its promising campaign to qualify for a second successive World Cup when it visits struggling El Salvador on Thursday.
The Panamanians currently sit in fourth place in the eight-team Third Round of the CONCACAF zone playoffs.
It is actually in a three-way tie with second-placed Canada and the third-placed USA, with all three teams on five points and with an equal goal difference of plus three.
El Salvador vs Panama Odds
| Matchup | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador vs Panama | ELS +0.5 (-195) | PAN -0.5 (+140) | ELS +220 | PAN +145 | DRAW +180 | Ov 1.5 (-160) | Un 1.5 (+125) |
Odds as of October 6 at DraftKings
The Canadians and the Americans, however, are placed ahead in the standings by virtue of the fact that they have each scored five goals while Panama has four.
If they hold on to it, that slot would fire them into an inter-confederation playoff to reach the finals in Qatar next year. Any higher would secure automatic qualification.
Meanwhile, El Salvador is in the seventh position and has yet to win in three games, although it has drawn twice.
Furthermore, it has failed to score in those three outings.
Panama Reached 2018 Finals in Russia
After 10 previous attempts, Panama finally reached the finals in Russia in 2018 where it exited at the group stage – after losing three matches against Belgium, England, and Tunisia.
Following a 1-1 draw at home against group leaders Mexico on Matchday 3 in September, DraftKings makes Panama the favorite for an away win this time out at +145.
How things stand going into October Concacaf #WorldCup Qualifiers 🍿 pic.twitter.com/4TUJDG81rI
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 5, 2021
El Salvador, meanwhile, is the outsider at +220 with the draw at +180.
After 1-0 wins for Panama in each of the last three meetings between these sides, another low-scoring affair looks in prospect.
El Salvador has not reached the finals since the tournament in Spain in 1982
In particular, the prop offer of +550 for Panama to win 1-0 looks promising.
At the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, the kick-off is at 10:05 pm ET.
Moreover, El Salvador has not reached the finals since the tournament in Spain in 1982 – following its first appearance in Mexico in 1970.
El Salvador vs Panama Statistics
| 0 | Wins | 1 |
| 2 | Draws | 2 |
| 1 | Losses | 0 |
| 0 | Goals | 4 |
| 3 | Goals Against | 1 |
| 4 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 2 | Clean Sheets | 2 |
*Statistics from Third Round phase of CONCACAF qualifying
Panama has not lost against El Salvador since a 3-1 defeat in World Cup qualifying way back in 2008.
Presently, with Danish-born, Spanish nationality coach Thomas Christensen in charge, Panama is undefeated in three games in the Third Round phase.
It opened with a 0-0 draw at home against Costa Rica in early September.
Then, subsequently, came a 3-0 victory away against current bottom club Jamaica; before the draw with Mexico.
Early Goal Against Leaders Mexico
Indeed, the Panamanians led the Mexicans from the 28th minute thanks to a goal from Ronaldo Blackburn.
However, Jesus Manuel Corona of Portuguese club Porto claimed a 70th-minute equalizer.
In particular, Panama has been strong defensively and offensively in this qualifying tournament.
It has conceded only three times in its nine fixtures across the three stages of the qualifying competition.
However, it has scored no fewer than 25 times.
To clarify, though, 19 of those goals came as it dominated its unchallenging First Round group.
Its’ most recent meeting with El Salvador was in 2017 – when Panama racked up the third of those three straight 1-0 wins in this particular fixture.
El Salvador was beaten 3-0 in Canada in its last World Cup qualification outing in September.
El Salvador last avoided defeat against Panama in 0-0 draw in 2013.
It was beaten 3-0 in Canada in its last World Cup qualification outing in September.
🗣 "Both of us come from rough neighbourhoods. I had to fight against the current."
🇵🇦 Panama striker Rolando Blackburn on why he's inspired by Carlos Tevez, becoming one of Los Canaleros' key players in #WCQ and how missing out on the 2018 #WorldCup only made him work harder 💪
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 5, 2021
Subsequently, it lost a friendly 2-0 against Guatemala later in the month – its last fixture.
The team had firstly drawn 0-0 at home against the United States at the start of the qualification competition Third Round.
Secondly, there was a 0-0 draw at home against Honduras.
Coach Perez Packs His Defense
The tactics of El Salvador’s coach Hugo Perez have been, specifically, to pack men behind the ball and aim to grind out results – although that emphatically came unstuck against the Canadians.
Accordingly, it has managed just two shots on target in its three Third Round games.
That certainly suggests this game will be a low-scoring affair.
And, furthermore, El Salvador is not averse to the rough stuff, committing 21 fouls against Canada – prompting the home team to commit 20, occasionally in retaliation.
Add another player to the list of missing Sounders during the international window. https://t.co/yGHrD4A1NU
— Sounder At Heart (@sounderatheart) September 30, 2021
However, after three goalless games in the group, El Salvador has to start taking some risks going forward at some stage; particularly as it is at home this time.
Even so, to sum up, Panama should pinch what could be a cautious encounter – with that prop offer looking attractive.
Pick: Panama to Win 1-0 (+550)
John Dillon is a leading member of the UK's sporting media, having spent three decades as a national newspaper soccer and sports writer, broadcaster and author. He has covered five World Cups, six European Championships and was Chief Sports Writer at the Daily Express for 14 years.
